species in the catch — accounted for 7.9, 6.9, and 

 4.6% of the total. 



The largest catch of smelt was 250 pounds, at 7 

 fathoms off Vermilion. Of the 4,560 pounds of yel- 

 low perch taken, 7.6% were from waters 5 to 10 

 fathoms deep and 92.4% were from 11 to 13 

 fathoms. 



Cruise 11 produced 7,613 pounds of fish at an 

 average Vi-hr catch rate of 215 pounds. Catches of 

 yellow perch were good off Avon Point and Fair- 

 port, Ohio; two drags yielded 540 and 410 pounds, 

 respectively. Both catches were from 9 fathoms. 

 Two catches of 390 and 300 pounds were taken east 

 of Kelleys Island in 7 fathoms, and 220 pounds were 

 taken north of Ashtabula, Ohio, from 1 1 fathoms. 

 Eleven drags in the Central Basin produced from 

 100 to 470 pounds of smelt; catches were good near 

 Ashtabula, Conneaut, Fairport, and between 

 Huron and Vermilion, at depths of 7 to 11 fathoms. 

 No species other than yellow perch and rainbow 

 smelt were taken in quantities large enough to be 

 considered commercially significant. 



Cruise 36 produced 6,502 pounds of fish with an 

 average '/2-hr catch rate of 253 pounds. Alewife 

 were present in all 28 drags and accounted for 4,454 

 pounds, or 68.5%, of the total catch. The average 

 '/i-hr catch rate was slightly more than 173 pounds 

 per drag, and catches of 200 pounds and more were 

 made in 14 of the 28 drags. The largest catch (350 

 pounds) was made off Huron, Ohio, in 7 fathoms. 

 Catches were generally greatest at 10 fathoms and 

 deeper, where the catch rate for alewife was 215 

 pounds per Vi-hr drag. 



Smelt, the second most abundant species, ac- 

 counted for 1,652 pounds of the total catch. The 

 largest catch of 225 pounds was taken at 9 fathoms 

 off Ashtabula. Most smelt catches were considera- 

 bly smaller than those of preceding cruises, a fact 

 reflected by the average Vi-hr catch rate of only 64.3 

 pounds. 



The few gizzard shad caught (144 pounds) were 

 mostly taken west of Cleveland, Ohio. During this 

 cruise, trawling in the Central Basin produced only 

 93 pounds of yellow perch; the largest catch of 30 

 pounds was taken from 12 fathoms off Ashtabula. 

 Though yellow perch appeared in 19 of the 28 

 catches, 18 of the 19 produced only 1 to 10 pounds. 



Eastern Basin 



The Eastern Basin occupies 2.408 square miles of 

 surface area — 24.3% of the total surface area of the 



lake. The Eastern Basin has a predominantly mud 

 bottom, though sand or clay often may extend out 

 from shore and into bays. Bottom conditions 

 throughout the U.S. portion of the Eastern Basin 

 were trawlable, with the exception of most water 

 shallower than 7 fathoms. 



Cruise 2, April-May 1 962.— During Cruise 2, the 

 13 drags made in the Eastern Basin produced a total 

 of only 140 pounds offish at an average Vi-hr catch 

 rate of 10.8 pounds. Though few fish were located 

 in trawlable areas, one heavy midwater concentra- 

 tion several miles long was recorded on the echo 

 sounder in the deepest area of the lake near the 

 junction of the international and New York- 

 Pennsylvania boundaries. The largest single catch 

 was 55 pounds of smelt from 6 fathoms taken off 

 Sturgeon Point, N.Y. Other catches ranged from 1 

 to 15 pounds. 



Cruise 4, September-October 1962. — Cruise 4 

 produced commercially significant catches of smelt 

 taken from waters between 12 and 25 fathoms deep. 

 Five drags off Barcelona, N.Y., took 150, 300, 450, 

 480, and 600 pounds each; and off Erie, Pa., three 

 drags took 120, 150, and 1,120 pounds each. All 

 drags lasted the standard 30 min. A total of 4,650 

 pounds of smelt in 18 drags gave a Vi-hr catch rate 

 of 258 pounds. 



Yellow perch was caught in 16 of the 18 drags; 

 the largest catch of 170 pounds was taken in 14 

 fathoms off Erie. The remaining catches of yellow 

 perch ranged between 1 and 1 1 pounds. The aver- 

 age !/2-hr catch rate was only 15 pounds. Alewife 

 appeared in 12 of the drags but never exceeded 8 

 pounds per drag. 



Cruise 11, May-June 1963. — During Cruise 11, 

 smelt continued to be the dominant species; 3,097 

 pounds were taken in 23 drags. The average '/2-hr 

 catch rate for all species combined was 156.5 

 pounds. Alewife were not taken from this basin dur- 

 ing the cruise. 



The best catch of smelt was 550 pounds in 15 

 fathoms off Erie. Pa. On the New York- 

 Pennsylvania border, 250 pounds were taken from 

 18 fathoms. In the Dunkirk-Sturgeon Point area, 

 catches were 250, 350, and 380 pounds at depths of 

 9 and 10 fathoms. For all drags the average '/^-hr 

 catch rate for smelt was 142.7 pounds. 



Only 247 pounds of yellow perch were taken in 20 

 drags; the largest catch of 75 pounds was taken in 14 



